Marcus Rashford believes that Manchester United’s downfall since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure can be attributed to a lack of direction and trust in the ‘principles’ implemented by the legendary Scottish manager.
The 27-year-old, who completed a season-long to Barcelona from his boyhood club last month, has argued that the Red Devils’ ‘reactionary’ approach has hampered their ability to win football’s biggest prizes.
United are in the midst of yet another rebuild, fresh from their worst-ever Premier League campaign, with Ruben Amorim the latest boss to try his hand at returning the club to the glories they enjoyed during Ferguson’s glittering 26-year reign.
‘Show me a successful team that just adapts,’ said Rashford on The Rest Is Football podcast. ‘When Ferguson was in charge, not only were there principles for the first team but they were for the whole academy.
‘So you could pick players from 15 years and they’d all understand the principles of playing the Manchester United way. Any team that has been successful over a period of time has principles that mean that any coach or player that comes in has to align to or add to the principles.
‘At times, United were hungry to win but it was reactionary. If your direction is always changing you can’t expect to win the league.’
Rashford’s departure for the Catalan giants comes after he made 426 appearances for United, scoring 138 goals and providing 42 assists.
The winger burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced 18-year-old by scoring twice on his Premier League debut against Arsenal in February 2016 and established himself as one of the brightest talents in Europe.
Unfortunately, save for his most productive campaign in the 2022-23 season when he netted 30 goals in all competitions, he has been unable to maintain the level of consistency of his more accomplished peers.
A reality, he would likely argue, of the turbulent environment at Old Trafford in the last 12 years that has seen six permanent bosses, each with different philosophies, attempt to return the club to glory.
The final fracture in his relationship with his boyhood club came last December when he dropped the bombshell that he is ready for a ‘new challenge and the next steps’. In January, Amorim said that the England star ‘has to change’ to win back his place.
Rashford was subsequently shipped out to Aston Villa on loan for the second half of the campaign and enjoyed a fruitful spell, scoring three goals and contributing four assists.
He has revealed that his time in the United doghouse has enabled him to gain clarity on United’s issues and hardened the view that the club stick to their latest commitment to change in order for the project to bear fruit.
‘This is what people forget,’ he added. ‘We have been way below where we deem United to be but if you take a step back, which I’ve been able to do, especially over these last six months, what do you expect?
‘People say that we’ve been in a transition for years but to be in a transition you have to start it. The actual transition hasn’t started yet.
‘When Liverpool went through this, they got [Jurgen] Klopp and stuck with him. They didn’t win in the beginning. People only remember his final few years when he was competing with City and winning the biggest trophies.
‘To start a transition you have to make a plan and stick to it.
‘This is where I speak about being realistic about what your situation is. We’ve had that many different managers, ideas and strategies in order to win that you end up in no man’s land.’
When asked if the situation at the Old Trafford hurts, he replied: ‘Yeah, 100 per cent. But not just as a player but as a fan.’
United have responded to their worst-ever Premier League campaign by splashing the cash on the additions of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko for a combined fee in excess of £200million.
